› added 6 years ago

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TIL: Bananas (and kitty litter) are radioactive enough that they frequently trips the sensors at U.S. ports of entry meant to detect nuclear material being smuggled in shipping containers.

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v1Z47 TIL that Mozart had an extreme dislike for the soprano Adriana Ferrarese del Bene. She had a strange tendency to bob her head to low and high notes, and knowing this, Mozart chose to fill her showpiece with constant harmonic leaps. He took great pleasure watching her bob her head "like a chicken".
KOZvJ TIL that the HEPA filter was conceived during WWII to guard soldiers and scientists, especially those working on the Manhattan Project, from radioactive particles.
WRB9 TIL When Kevin Spacey was asked on why he is so secretive about his private life he stated, “The less you know about me, the easier it is to convince you that I am that character on screen. It allows an audience to come into a movie theatre and believe I am that person”.
l1bK TIL that there is a word in Italian “Giacca civetta” meaning “Owl Jacket” which is a term for the second jacket bought with a suit, which is left draped over the back of your chair at work (giving the impression of being there) while you wear the other on the town boozing and wooing women.
Bgy7K Today I learned that Hans Christian Andersen based his story "The Emperor's New Clothes" on a folk tale about a king who is tricked by swindlers who claim to have made clothes that can't be seen by any man who isn't the son of the king's presumed father.